Turkmenistan, Ashgabat, May 21 / Trend H. Hasanov /
At present, Turkmenistan is operating to diversify its natural gas supplies to the world markets as being one of the most important priorities of the energy policy of the country, Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov told the participants at the fourth International Gas Congress which opened in Ashgabat today.
'Our country is gradually increasing its exports of natural gas', the statement said. According to the Turkmen leader, the holding of the congress in Ashgabat must demonstrate Turkmenistan's concrete actions to develop the domestic energy sector in line with the policy implemented in the oil and gas industry, as well as active integration into the global energy system.
"Our country has abundant gas reserves," the Turkmen president said. "While serving the interests not only of the Turkmen people, but all mankind, these resources are of great importance for developing the economy of the country and increasing its role in the global system of world economic relations."
The large investments stipulate the high pace of large scale operations on the recognised world's largest natural gas field of Galkynysh.
The economic potential of the country's energy sector will significantly increase after the first stage of Galkynysh is commissioned in the near future, the Turkmen president said.
The president said that Turkmenistan took the leading position in gas volumes in the world. One of the main tasks of the oil and gas complex is the efficient use and processing of natural gas and the production of high quality liquefied gas and polymers are in great demand in the world markets.
Turkmenistan creates favourable conditions to the suppliers of fuel and raw materials and consumers to create a multi-vector system of pipelines and conclude new contracts for the stable, reliable and long term delivery of energy resources to the world markets, the president said.
According to the energy strategy, Turkmenistan is operating much to prepare the new variants of natural gas exports.
The meetings of the ministers participating in the implementation of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India gas pipeline construction project significantly increased the pace of the work in this direction. The meetings were held within the third International Gas Congress in 2012. Regular meetings of the technical working groups of member states testify to this factor.
The East-West gas pipeline being built rapidly in the country, will bring together all the major gas fields in Turkmenistan under a single system, as well as create conditions for the export of Turkmen fuel to the world markets in any direction, the president said.
Turkmenistan is one of the key players in the energy market of the Caspian region and Central Asia. According to the oil and gas industry development programme it is planned to increase the annual production of gas up to 250 billion cubic meters, mainly for export, in 2030.
In 2013, Turkmenistan plans to commission the Galkynysh largest field and initially extract 30 billion cubic meters of tank gas per year.
According to Gaffney, Cline & Associates (UK), Galkynysh is the second largest field in the world. This gas field is expected to provide all existing and planned gas pipelines from Turkmenistan with fuel in the future. For this purpose, the East-West gas pipeline is being constructed in the country. According to the specified data, its length will span 800 kilometres.
At this stage, Turkmenistan exports natural gas to China, Iran and Russia.
Among the planned gas pipelines from Turkmenistan are the additional one to Russia (Caspian gas pipeline - through Kazakhstan), Europe (Trans-Caspian gas pipeline through the Caspian Sea via Azerbaijan) and India (Trans-Afghan gas pipeline via Pakistan).